Youngest Retainer
by Dannrose
Summary: Hinata is a 'retainer-in-training', though everyone knows that the title is purely invented for convienience. A set of one-shots set in an AU where Hinata is much younger than the others and is 'not really' adopted by the Hoshidan Royal Family.
1. Survivor

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to this AU fic. It basically is a series of one-shots looking at what would things be like if Hinata was far younger than the rest of the characters and sort of adopted by the Hoshiden Royal Family. The chapters will dot around the timeline and different paths so not all of them will be canonical with each other. Suggestions for future chapters are welcome and I hope you all enjoy the fic.**_

 _ **I do not own any aspect of Fire Emblem: Fates.**_

* * *

 **Survivor**

Mikoto gazed sorrowfully at the destruction around her.

It had been yet another Faceless attack, a rampage through a tiny village near the border. As always, the monsters had destroyed everything in their path, taking with them countless innocent lives and homes, tearing apart families and reducing the peaceful village to rubble. The military patrols in the area had responded to the sudden attack swiftly and the Faceless had been wiped out, but not swiftly enough it seemed.

Orochi and Reina flanked her, watching the soldiers pick through the ruins in an attempt to find survivors. Yukimura was overseeing the operation, refusing to allow the Queen to come to such a place without him, but with each section searched, chances of finding even one person alive grew slim.

Suddenly, a shout resounded from one of the ruins and a young spear fighter scrambled hastily down the debris, clutching something in his arms. Immediately, a healer swooped in, a powerful festal already glowing in her hands, and Mikoto strode in their direction, wanting to see for herself.

As she approached, the healer called out, "I need another healer here!"

"I'm here."

The woman barely even blinked as the Queen herself offered her services, Mikoto was a renowned Priestess and would often use her healing skills if required, "Thank you, your Majesty."

Anyone gathered moved aside for their Queen and she inadvertently gave a gasp when she saw exactly who it was that needed treatment.

Hinata.

Though a mere boy, she had met him many times since his father was a skilled samurai in service to the Hoshidan Royal Family and something of a close, personal friend. What was he doing here?

Pushing those thoughts aside, the Queen focused on saving his life, the boy had countless injuries and even as she set to work with her festal, she questioned the man who'd found him, "Where was he?"

"Buried underneath a veritable mountain of rubble your Majesty." The spear fighter swiftly answered, "I assume he was taking cover in the building when one of those monsters brought it down. He was only saved from being crushed by a particularly strong beam."

Examining Hinata's wounds, even as she healed them, Mikoto agreed with the man's theory. All the injuries on the boy indicated them being received from the collapse, none matched up with him attempting to fight the Faceless and while the wounds were many, none were particularly bad on their own. Glancing at the pile the boy had likely been pulled from, she decided it was something of a near miracle he'd survived.

As she and her fellow healer slowly tended to the boy, she found her thoughts returning to the initial question of why Hinata was here.

Last, she knew, his father and mother had requested permission to leave on something of a trip through Hoshido, they'd wanted their son to know more of the kingdom he was born into and she'd readily granted their request. Had they just happened to be present in this village when the Faceless attacked?

Wordlessly, she glanced at Orochi and the diviner, long since attuned to her Queen's way of thinking, simply bowed and headed into the rest of the ruined village. As she disappeared, they finally finished healing the last of Hinata's injuries, he wasn't fully healed (even the most powerful healing items had their limits) but he would certainly recover in time. Without prompting, Reina carefully lifted the still unconscious boy and carried him away to where they'd left the convoy, Mikoto was certain the woman would keep careful watch over him until she returned, and she focused her attention on Yukimura.

Her tactician and advisor nodded in response to a man's report before speaking to his Queen, "Your Majesty, we have just finished our search of the entire village." He closed his eyes sadly, "It appears that there are no other survivors."

Like her tactician, she also closed her eyes in sadness, grief filling her heart at the news that so many of her people were now lost. Yukimura spoke softly, "We will ensure to properly dig through all the rubble, but I fear that all we'll find are bodies."

The Queen merely nodded silently, and the man bowed before continuing his work, she spotted Orochi approaching and at her questioning look the diviner simply lowered her head and Mikoto had her answer.

Hinata was orphaned.

* * *

 _ **PS-A short, opening chapter to explain how Hinata was orphaned. Please feel free to give suggestions for this fic in reviews or PMs and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	2. Training, Tea and Hair

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to the second chapter. This one kind of got away and ended up much longer than I thought and is a bit of a family moment between kid-Hinata and Queen Mikoto. Thank you those who've followed and favourited this fic and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Training, Tea and Hair**

"Hinata."

Queen Mikoto sighed when she received no answer and resumed her search through the palace.

It had been some weeks since the boy had lost his parents and been brought to the palace. Both his mother and father had been highly respected samurai in service to the Royal Family and personal friends of hers, so she'd been more than happy to bring him into the care of the palace. However, he was far too young to actually be an active member of the military or a servant, so he'd largely ended up being treated like a member of the Royal Family, much to the displeasure of one or two of her stuffier court members.

While Hinata had been grieving, they'd kept their thoughts to themselves, believing his stay in the palace to be temporary, but when his grief finally disappeared and there was no sign he would be moved on or put into some form of service, they got more vocal. They had brought up their displeasure with his position and rapidly growing familiarity with the princes and princesses in nicely spoken but harsh words, not realising that Hinata had been nearby and had heard everything. She herself had only realised when she heard a sniff and turned just in time to see the boy run away and disappear into the many corridors.

That was half an hour ago, and she'd been searching for him ever since.

"Hinata."

Again, she received no response and she frowned, thinking she may have to pull some people in to help her. She'd avoiding sending people to search, wanting to find and speak to the boy herself but there were some places he could be hiding which she just couldn't get to anymore. Despite her looks, she wasn't exactly a sprightly woman anymore and, while she wouldn't say she was old yet, she certainly wasn't in the prime of her youth anymore, plus she'd dealt with raising four step-children who were now adults or close to it

She was just about to find some assistance when Kaze approached and bowed, "Your Majesty, if you're looking for Hinata then he's in the small, private dojo."

Even as she smiled gratefully at him, Mikoto lightly berated herself, of course he was in the dojo, it was likely his most favoured place in the palace and training was his favourite pastime.

"Thank you Kaze."

He nodded once and bowed again before vanishing as only a skilled ninja could, used to this, Mikoto simply headed for the dojo, that wasn't that far from where she was. She had a suspicion that Kaze had likely been secretly keeping an eye on the boy until she appeared, and she mentally thanked him for his discretion.

Gently sliding the door open, she found Hinata armed with a training katana and swinging it methodically in a set routine.

Wild as he could be, when it came to his swordplay, he was well disciplined and dedicated. He was willing to put in the time and effort and maintain a regular training routine to hone his already considerable skills, it was a trait likely gained from his parents, both of whom had been equally dedicated to their fighting skills.

Unnoticed by the boy, she quietly watched him as he went through a series of swings and stances (some of which were certainly inspired by training under Ryoma while others bore the mark of Takumi's lesser known style), though they were edged the roughness of someone in training, she could see the same natural control and skill his father had when he'd wielded a blade.

Coming to the end of a set, Hinata lowered the wooden blade, panting heavily, and she made her presence known, "Hinata."

The boy jumped with fright and spun round, wooden sword held ready, then realised he was face to face with the Queen and lowered it hastily, "Your Majesty!"

Mikoto simply smiled, "Well you certainly react to surprise well, though I'm sure Ryoma has been teaching you to be more mindful of your surroundings."

He looked down guiltily, "Yeah, but I just get so focused when I'm training I kind of block out everything else."

As he'd spoken, she'd made her way over to a set of mats and sat down, gently she patted the spot beside her. He hesitated before coming over and sitting down next to her, fiddling with his training sword awkwardly. They sat in silence for a until Mikoto glanced at him thoughtfully, "Have you ever had tea?"

He frowned in confusion but answered regardless, "Umm…no, but mom used to say that tea drinking was a vital part of being a samurai."

The Queen chuckled lightly, "Of course she did."

His mother had always sworn by tea as the answer to just about everything and insisted that it was the reason she had been such a successful warrior, it was almost surprising that she hadn't made tea drinking a part of her son's training routine.

Mikoto nodded decisively, "Well then, perhaps we should have some tea." She spoke into the empty room, "Kaze, would you please be so kind as to ask someone from the kitchens to send us up some tea."

Like magic, Kaze appeared and bowed, "Certainly your Majesty."

He then disappeared once more, and the Queen chuckled at Hinata's shocked expression, "Our ninjas are certainly skilled, aren't they?"

He only nodded, "Yeah."

They sat in silence once more until the boy spoke, "Was he watching me the whole time?"

"Not so much 'watching' as 'keeping a protective eye on'." At his confused look she embellished further, "Kaze is dedicated to protecting the Royal Family and their close friends, so he is often around watching over people in the palace. Saizo and Kagero do something similar themselves, though one of them will always be near Ryoma."

There was a slight clinking noise and Kaze reappeared, bearing a tray with a pot and two cups. He set it down before them and Mikoto smiled at him, "Thank you Kaze, but you didn't have to bring it yourself."

He merely smiled in return, "The kitchen staff were quite busy organising dinner for tonight, so I thought it best to bring it myself." He bowed, "Do you need anything else?"

"No, thank you Kaze."

He bowed and vanished, no doubt to a place where he could watch but not hear their conversation, and she poured the tea. She showed Hinata the proper way to hold the cup but had to check him from downing it, "No Hinata, tea must be enjoyed at a leisurely pace, not downed like you're at a tavern."

She watched him take a sip and he grinned, "This is great!"

She smiled and took a sip herself. Finding it to be one of the sweeter teas she mentally thanked the kitchen staff, who'd likely selected this one because it was one most children preferred. Again, silence fell between them as they sipped their tea, Hinata obviously resisting the urge to down it. At about maybe halfway through their first cup, she finally spoke, "So what brought on the additional training session?"

He stopped, the cup halfway to his lips, before lowering it with a sigh, "Am I really not supposed to be here?"

Though she knew that was exactly what was bothering him, it still saddened her, "Of course you're supposed to be here."

"But those other court members, they keep asking about when I'm going, saying that I'm getting 'too familiar' with everyone." He cast his eyes down further, "One told me that I belong in an orphanage and should remember my place and not rely on my dad's former position to scrounge off the Royal Family."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow at this, not knowing that someone had said such a thing to him, "When was this?"

"Just after a sparring session with Lord Takumi." He frowned thoughtfully, "I think it's because I tried to tackle him when he kept winning." He briefly grinned, "I even got him down for a moment, though we did fall right into the mud." The frown returned, "But afterwards, the court member approached when Lord Takumi had gone and told me off."

Anger flashed through her, it seemed members of her court were being less than courteous whenever she or her children were not around, she would have to stop that after this talk. She pushed it down to deal with later, "Well, they were wrong, you most certainly belong here, and no stuffy member of the court is going to change that."

He looked at her in surprise and she grinned, "You're not the only one they express their displeasure to, sometimes its hard to remain polite when they come to me, airing their 'grievances'."

He blinked, "But, you're the Queen. Aren't you allowed to be rude to them?"

She smiled softly, "Being Queen requires a certain amount of discretion, otherwise you cause yourself a mess of problems."

He frowned, not quite understanding but didn't question any further, instead, he asked another question, "But what if everyone thinks the same thing?"

"Hinata." She placed a gentle hand on his head, "Of course they don't, they all think you belong here. Why do you think Kaze keeps watch over you? He does so because he considers you part of the family and doesn't want anything to happen to you and most of the staff love having you around the place as well as the retainers." She hummed thoughtfully, "Though I think Oboro is getting slightly frustrated with constantly having to repair your clothes."

He ducked his head guiltily, "Yeah, she said. She also told me that she was cutting my hair tomorrow, whether I liked it or not." He grimaced, "She can be really scary."

Mikoto eyed his hair, it was getting rather long, he could put it in a ponytail if he wanted to and it was a mess. Moving behind him, she produced a small comb she kept with her just in case and set about combing his hair, he squirmed slightly, and she lightly reprimanded him, "Sit still, this might save you from having Oboro cut your hair tomorrow."

Moving the comb through his tangles, she tugged slightly when it got stuck.

"Ow!"

She tutted at his response, "Well it wouldn't hurt if it wasn't so tangled! Do you ever comb your hair?"

There was a brief pause before he answered quietly, "No…"

She sighed, "Well, this is what happens when you don't. Ryoma found that out the hard way as well."

"Really?"

She chuckled, "When he first started growing that mane of his, he didn't comb very often either. Eventually I couldn't stand it and I attacked the whole thing with a comb, it took a couple of hours to sort it out and now he makes sure to comb it each and every day."

Hinata scrunched his face up, clearly trying to imagine the Queen combing the High Prince's hair and Mikoto couldn't resist adding to it, "Takumi was worse though, I've lost count of the times I've had to comb his for him. Every time he claims he can do it himself and yet, he still only ties it up and thinks that'll do." She sighed, "Thank goodness Sakura and Hinoka decided to keep theirs short."

The boy giggled, imagining the serious prince having his hair combed for him and Mikoto smiled fondly. Having finished combing, she pulled a spare orange ribbon from her clothes and tied his hair in the same traditional style his father used to keep it and nodded at her handiwork, that certainly looked much better and Oboro would only have to trim his bangs now.

The boy patted his new hairstyle curiously then grinned at her, "Thank you."

She couldn't help but ruffle his hair, sort of messing up its neatness, "Just try and keep it that tidy, or I'll give you a bowl cut."

Fear passed over his face, "I'll look after it, promise!"

"Good." She smiled once more and gestured to the tea set, "Now then, shall we return these things to the kitchens?"

He nodded eagerly and grabbed the tray, causing her to slightly fear for the teapot as it wobbled dangerously. He noticed and stood more carefully, and she stood along with him, saying one last thing, "Hinata, if you ever feel like you need someone to talk to, then come and find me. You belong here, and the court members are just going to have to accept that."

He smiled and nodded gratefully, and she looked thoughtful, "Shall we have tea together again sometime?"

He beamed, "Yes please!"

* * *

 _ **PS-So I ended up unintentionally writing the origins of Hinata's hairstyle but hey. Please let me know what you thought and suggestions for future chapters are welcome.**_


	3. Avoiding Lessons

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **So, most of may recognise this as the original first chapter of this fic. I've moved this from the beginning and replaced it with what I think is a better starting chapter. For those just coming to this for the first time, this is just a bit of a silly chapter featuring Ryoma, Oboro and other retainers, alongside a rebellious Hinata. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.  
**_

 _ **I do not own any aspect of Fire Emblem: Fates.**_

* * *

 **Avoiding Lessons**

Ryoma heard Hinata long before he saw him.

The barely contained giggles hardly lent themselves to stealth and the prince could recognise who they belonged to with ease. Regardless, he didn't turn around and pretended to still be focused on the papers in his hands. The sneaky (though not really) footsteps grew closer and he heard the intake of breath and braced himself…

"YAAH!"

With a mighty warcry, the wild youth flung himself at the prince's back and latched his arms around the man's neck, trying to bring him down. Ryoma didn't even budge and merely hummed in mild interest, "Hmm, I appear to have been ambushed."

Though he couldn't see it, the samurai knew that Hinata was pouting, "That should've worked!"

The prince simply smiled at the boy's disappointment, "You'll have to do better than that if you want to surprise me."

As Hinata began grumbling, Ryoma shook his head fondly.

Ever since he'd been orphaned, Hinata had resided at the palace. His father had been a great samurai from a long line of warriors who'd served the Hoshidan Royal Family and a personal friend of both Ryoma's late father and Queen Mikoto. With the death of his parents, Hinata had nowhere to go and the Queen had taken him in. Officially, the boy was a retainer-in-training but while his skill with a katana was uncannily impressive, everyone knew that his 'position' was simply an excuse for him to remain in the castle. Even the whole 'retainer-in-training' thing was effectively made up but only the stuffiest court members actually cared.

Basically, Hinata was another member of the family and the child had ended up being very much doted on by pretty much everyone.

Ryoma began walking down the corridor they were in, shifting his papers to one hand while using his free arm to support the boy on his back, as Hinata began talking, "What are those you're reading?"

"Records of harvests for this year."

At his answer, the boy pulled a face, "Boring."

Ryoma chuckled, when it came to economics and other such things, Hinata was no master, likely the trade-off for his far too well-developed sword skills, "I thought you might say that."

He then frowned, he had a feeling that the boy was supposed to be doing something else right now. What was it?

"Hinata!"

At the shout, the boy on his back stiffened and Ryoma turned to see Oboro approaching with a displeased look. She politely bowed to the prince before fixing her eyes on the boy on his back, "Hinata, you're supposed to be at your lessons right now!"

The prince glanced in the boy's direction in amusement, "I thought you were supposed to be elsewhere." He abruptly turned, "He's all yours."

Realising he was betrayed, the boy practically leapt off his back, Oboro lunged at him but the child dived out of reach and scampered off, yelling back defiantly, "Never!"

"Get back here!"

The spear fighter charged after him and Ryoma sighed, he knew that Oboro would catch the boy, but he made a mental note to have a serious talk with Hinata about the importance of his education.

* * *

Hana and Subaki were in the middle of a sparring session in the training grounds when a small blur charged past.

They took a moment or two to recognise it as Hinata and barely had time to wonder what was going on when Oboro burst onto the scene, "Catch him!"

Not fully understanding why, they complied and cut off his escape routes. However, Hinata was a quick kid and he evaded capture, leading them a merry dance all over the training grounds. From the side-lines, various guards, palace staff and soldiers watched the chase unfold though they didn't seem to concerned with lending a hand. Halting briefly to catch her breath, Hana spotted a certain monk perched on a nearby rock, "Azama, help us out!"

The man simply smiled cheerily, "You seem to be managing quite well on your own, though it is most enlightening to observe your determination."

With a growl, Hana re-joined the chase which continued until Hinata finally slipped up and avoided Subaki only to be seized by Oboro. The spear fighter unceremoniously shoved the boy under her arm and ignored his protests as she carried him back towards the palace, "Right kid, you're going to your lessons and that's final!"

Those who'd watched the whole chase couldn't help but laugh as Hinata protested loudly all the way back to the palace and into the corridors.

* * *

 _ **PS-A light, silly chapter there. These one-shots will jump about all over the place so feel free to make any suggestions for chapters. Please let me know what you thought and I'll potentially update soon.**_


	4. Meeting Corrin

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to chapter three. This one features some interaction between young Hinata and Corrin, as well as a little bit of Kaze at the end. Thank you those who've shown their support of this fic and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Meeting Corrin**

Hinata peered around the corner of the door, curious about the strange woman who'd appeared in Hoshido.

The palace had been buzzing recently with the news of the sudden discovery and return of the lost princess, Corrin, and he was certain that this woman was said princess, however, he was nervous about meeting her.

Living in the palace as he had, he was well aware of the story of her kidnapping by Nohr and subsequent disappearance. Ryoma had mentioned her once or twice but beyond the basic facts, he knew little about her. Things weren't helped by the fact people had been muttering suspiciously about her, they feared she could be a Nohrian spy and he could sort of understand their concerns.

Regardless, he wanted to meet her for himself.

With the rest of the Royals basically being his surrogate family, Corrin was kind of something like his sister, in a roundabout way. As such, he really wanted to get to know her, but with Ryoma, Sakura and Hinoka jubilant and glad of her return, while Takumi remained suspicious, he felt slightly nervous. He held deep respect for Ryoma but the prince always seemed more of a teacher-like figure whereas Takumi was closer to an older brother, as such he really took heed of what the younger prince said and if Takumi was suspicious, surely there was a good reason.

At the moment though, Corrin seemed more bewildered than anything else, examining everything with a fascinated curiosity. She would peer closely at pictures of the Royal Family, her face frowning as if trying to remember something about each one before moving onto the next one.

Suddenly, she turned towards him and he gulped. Technically speaking, he wasn't really doing anything wrong, but it was pretty rude to be watching someone like that, and his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. However, instead of being offended (or even a little creeped out), the princess smiled, "Hello."

He hastily bowed, stuttering out a reply, "Err…hello…Milady."

She seemed to giggle before crouching down to his eye-level, "And who are you?"

He'd been asked this question several times by visitors to the palace, sometimes it was with a disdainful tone through an upturned nose, other times it was with a patronising 'you're a child so I must speak to you in an overly-friendly way' tone. Corrin, however, didn't use either one, instead she genuinely sounded like she was just curious.

Hinata found himself responding, "I'm Hinata," He puffed himself up a bit, "I'm training to be Lord Takumi's retainer."

Usually when he said this, the other person would give the 'I'm humouring you' laugh, and then say, 'Of course you are' in the 'I don't believe you but you're a kid, so I'll just pretend I do' tone. Occasionally, the person would openly scoff and say, 'you shouldn't tell fibs' or 'don't be silly boy', before walking away shaking their heads.

Once again, Corrin did neither, instead, she genuinely smiled, "I see, that's why you're here in the palace." She spotted something and frowned in interest, "Is that a sword you're carrying?"

He grinned proudly and patted the katana at his hip, "Yeah."

The katana had been a gift from Takumi a couple of weeks ago and was specially designed to suit his current size and strength. Skilled as he was, a full-sized blade was currently too large and unwieldy for him and he couldn't wear it at his side without it constantly tripping him up. While he wasn't marching into battle, he was accompanying Takumi on minor scouts and trips through Hoshido and it paid to be prepared to fight. Each member of the Royal Family had mentioned at some point that they felt more at ease when he had a proper blade to defend himself and Ryoma had said it was also vital to train with a real weapon, not just a training one. Initially, he had used a full-sized katana, but after a scouting trip he'd joined a couple of retainers on, Saizo had pointed out the issues with it and his current one had been made.

It had been one of the proudest days of his young life when Takumi handed it to him. To most it was simply a practical gift, but to Hinata, it was confirmation that his place was not superficial, but an actual role and responsibility. It gave him a sense of definite belonging.

Corrin's smile grew at his obvious pride, "Well it certainly suits you."

"Lady Corrin."

A foreign voice entered the conversation and both of them glanced towards the door to find a servant waiting there. The woman bowed, "The Queen wishes to see you in the gardens Milady." She gave Hinata a quick look of disdain, "I do hope this _boy_ isn't causing you any trouble."

Corrin didn't seem to pick up on the woman's dislike for Hinata, "No at all, he was just telling me about how he's training to be Takumi's retainer."

The servant's face twisted slightly as she concealed a sneer, "I'm sure he was."

The princess smiled gratefully, "Thank you, I'll head for the gardens immediately." She smiled down at Hinata, "I guess I'll see you later Hinata."

He grinned, "See you later."

With a nod, Corrin left for the gardens, once she was gone, the servant woman glowered at him, "You shouldn't get so familiar with the Royal Family boy, it does not become your station."

Hinata resisted the urge to roll his eyes, he'd heard this same speech from this woman and a couple of other senior servants several times before. Most of the palace staff liked having him around but there were one or two who held similar views to the few stuffy nobles and they insisted on trying to tell him to not get so 'familiar' with the royals. Of course, it was actually far too late for that now and even if he considered trying to distance himself, the Royal Family wouldn't let him.

Instead of explaining this, he simply smiled, "I don't see how my interaction with Lady Corrin was wrong. The other retainers talk casually with the Royal Family all the time."

The woman sneered, "But you are not a retainer."

She smirked as if she'd somehow scored a winning blow but Hinata impudently stuck his tongue out at her, causing her to puff herself up in offence, "How dare you!"

He simply smiled, annoying her even more, and she spun on her heel and stormed off, after pulling some more faces at her retreating back, Hinata smirked. While deliberately riling up the people who didn't like him wasn't smart, he knew nothing would come of it. The woman didn't have the authority to discipline him herself, instead, she was to take any complaints about him to Takumi. However, doing so would mean explaining what had happened and that ran the risk of revealing how she'd spoken to him, while the prince would certainly be unimpressed with his actions, he'd be equally unimpressed with the servant's, therefore, reporting it would only cause problems for her as well. It wasn't helped by the fact that one particularly 'high and mighty' senior servant had 'disciplined' Hinata for his closeness to the Royal Family, the event had quickly been discovered by the retainers and the Royal family, resulting in serious repercussions for the servant. In fact, it was kind of a miracle the man had survived considering he'd made even Sakura angry (something no one wished to see again) and the incident had tempered the thoughts of other, similar thinking individuals.

Satisfied he'd won the slight clash of wills, he grinned and turned, just to find Kaze stood behind him. His smile instantly vanished as he realised the ninja had likely witnessed the whole thing and was probably about to get him in trouble.

The man looked at him impassively, "Deliberately upsetting others is not a suitable way for a retainer to act, regardless of how they feel about you."

Hinata ducked his head guiltily, "I know but…"

"Remember that your actions reflect on Prince Takumi as well."

Hinata ducked his head even lower and the ninja sighed, "That being said, the way she spoke to you wasn't acceptable either, so I understand why you did what you did but still, keep in mind that you are training to be a retainer."

He then smiled, "Just be glad Prince Ryoma didn't see it."

The boy blanched, if the oldest prince had been there, he would've received a far longer and stricter lecture, though such a thing was likely if the ninja told the prince what happened. He looked to Kaze pleadingly, "Please don't tell him."

The man's eyes twinkled as he seemingly considered it before answering, "Well…I suppose I don't need to mention it to him if you promise to show respect to others, even if they don't always show it to you."

The thought of Ryoma's possible lecture in his mind, the boy quickly leapt on his once chance of avoiding it, "I promise, I'll do my best to show them more respect."

Kaze studied him closely, checking he meant his words, then smiled once more, "Very well, but I will hold you to that."

"Thank you Kaze!"

The ninja simply nodded, "Your welcome." He briefly eyed the boy's clothes, "Now then, Princess Corrin is due to be presented before the kingdom later today and Princess Sakura has made it very clear you're going to be there. You might want to get changed and freshen up before she finds you."

Hinata shuddered slightly, the youngest princess would certainly act if she believed his state of attire and tidiness didn't meet her expectations, an experience that was really not fun.

Seeing it, Kaze smiled mischievously, "She's currently looking for you in the training grounds, I would suggest going via the east wing to reach your quarters without meeting her."

Instantly, Hinata sprinted off in the suggested direction, calling briefly back behind him, "Thanks Kaze!"

The ninja simply smiled and shook his head.

* * *

 _ **PS-So a rather amicable start to Corrin and Hinata's relationship. If anyone has any suggestions for this fic then feel free to include them in any reviews or PMs, I'll consider suggestions for all three paths of the game.**_


	5. Against Wishes

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to another chapter. This one features a long scene between Hinata and Takumi and is set in the Revelations route. Thank you those who've shown their support of this fic and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Against Wishes**

With the gift of hindsight, Hinata decided that it had been a very foolish move to leave Hoshido alone.

After the destruction of the town and the death of Queen Mikoto, the war between Hoshido and Nohr had escalated drastically. With the barrier that protected the kingdom gone, proper Nohrian troops could invade and the resulting battle had caused Corrin to refuse to pick a side, tearing the Royal Family apart.

Ryoma had vanished, looking for allies and ways to deal with the threat, Takumi had left with Oboro for the kingdom of Izumo, Hinoka was staying to protect the palace, and, according to Yukimura, Sakura and her retainers had already joined up with Corrin. Hinata himself had initially been left at the palace, despite his desire to accompany Takumi as he was supposed to. While they'd attempted to say it was because they needed him to protect the palace, he knew full well it was just the siblings being overprotective. As such, he'd snuck out and followed after Prince Takumi in order to join him, he was supposed to be training to be his retainer after all.

Unfortunately, he ran into Zola and a group of Nohrians who'd secretly captured Izumo's Archduke Izana and (after a surprisingly long struggle where he injured several Nohrians) had been captured himself.

Leading him to where he was now, mainly tied up in a banquet hall filled with captives being lectured furiously by Oboro.

"What were you thinking, leaving Castle Shirasagi alone, do you realise how foolish that was!?"

Hinata answered with slight defiance, "But I'm supposed to be with Lord Takumi!"

"And you're supposed to do as he says!" She snapped back, "Wasn't he the one that ordered you to remain behind?"

"Technically it was Yukimura and wasn't officially an order."

That was sort of the truth, Yukimura had been the one to suggest that he be left behind, and the Royal Family had agreed. As such, it wasn't Prince Takumi who'd given the order and it had actually been given as a strong suggestion rather than an explicit command (though that might've been more because Hinata stopped arguing the point before it became one rather than anything else).

Unsurprisingly, Oboro was not impressed.

"That's not the point! If I wasn't tied up, I'd clip you round the ear for your stupidity!" Somehow, the spear fighter's glare intensified, "Do you realise how much trouble you've likely caused back at the palace? Princess Hinoka is probably going spare at your sudden disappearance!"

At that, Hinata did lower his head guiltily. In all honesty, he hadn't thought about it until now but Oboro was right, the eldest princess would be frantic at his running away, especially since Sakura had already run off to join Corrin. She'd probably sent Pegasus Knights all over Hoshido to try and find him and had likely scoured the land herself. He certainly would have a serious apology to make when he next saw her, in fact, she'd most likely whack him upside the head for this stunt.

Before he could reply, a blast of magic took out the door revealing Corrin and Sakura, indicating that they might actually be rescued.

* * *

It was sometime later, when they'd all been freed by Corrin's small band and the princesses and Takumi had entered discussions with Izana, and Hinata was sat down in the corner of the banquet hall.

Oboro had indeed clipped his ear and she'd ordered him, in no uncertain terms, to sit down and stay put. Wisely, the boy had obeyed, and he watched people milling about as they reorganised the hall and castle after the battle with Zola's group, occasionally rubbing his sore ear.

Hana had already found him, and he winced as he recalled her sharp few words with him, she was as unimpressed as Oboro with his actions and she let him know it. Subaki had apparently decided he didn't need to add his own lecture but that was little comfort to the boy since he knew that the worst was yet to come.

Namely his inevitable 'talk' with Takumi.

The prince could be as strict and unyielding as his older brother and while Hinata technically hadn't disobeyed a direct order, he had chosen to not agree to the prince's wishes, not really the best course of action for a retainer-in-training. Prince Takumi took that sort of thing very seriously and he certainly would not be happy with what he'd done.

All things considered, he really had been stupid.

He spotted the prince at the other end of the hall, discussing something with Oboro and his insides clenched. They only clenched tighter when the prince briefly glanced his way before saying something to his retainer and walking in his direction. As the prince approached, Hinata looked down, not wanting to meet the man's eyes.

"Hinata."

Though spoken at a normal level, Takumi's tone indicated just how angry he was and Hinata gulped. He hesitantly looked up and the prince gestured with his head.

"Follow me."

Obediently, the boy stood and followed the prince out of the hall and to one of the many small gardens scattered about the Izumo palace. Not once did the prince look back at him and Hinata kept his head down the whole way.

* * *

Angry was something of an understatement for how Takumi felt, he was furious.

Not only had he suffered the humiliation of being tricked and captured by a snake like Zola, but Hinata, who was supposed to be safe at Castle Shirasagi, had gone and followed him here, by himself! The child had stupidly come after him, ignoring their wishes, yes, he hadn't technically ordered him to stay but he'd have expected the boy to respect their say on the matter. On top of all this Izana had died in order to give them guidance and convince him to join with Corrin and he couldn't help but feel guilty, maybe if he hadn't been so stubborn and suspicious of his sister, Izana might still be alive.

All of this bubbled inside, fuelling his anger and leaving him unsure as how to deal with Hinata.

They reached the garden and Takumi stopped, hearing the boy do exactly the same behind him. He stood in silence, still not turning around, and took several, calming breaths, angry as he was, he couldn't let it all just surge forward upon the child behind him.

Once he felt ready, he turned around.

Hinata's head was hanging low, his eyes fixed guiltily on the ground in front of him, his body language indicating he was well aware of what he'd done. Steadily, Takumi spoke, "Hinata, look at me."

Slowly, meekly, the boy raised his head and looked him in the eye, his eyes confirming the prince's initial assumptions.

The child was indeed aware of the stupidity of his actions.

The prince sighed, "I assume I don't need to list all the reasons why what you did was stupid."

Truthfully, Takumi just didn't want to think about them, a lot of things could happen to a child travelling alone, kidnapping, injury, mugging, murder, the war with Nohr only increased the chance of such things happening and he would be forever grateful the boy made it to Izumo unscathed.

Hinata's answer was quiet, "No Milord."

The silence stretched on as Takumi considered his next words, "Then why did you do it?"

He actually had a pretty good idea why, but he wanted the boy to say it himself, confessing what you'd done and why you'd done it was important.

Again, Hinata's answer was quiet, "Because, I felt that I should accompany you."

"Even though we expressed our wish for you to remain at home."

At this, the boy faltered and looked down once more, knowing he didn't really have a good answer for that one. The prince briefly closed his eyes before continuing, "Hinata, when we ask something of you we expect you to listen to it, you're still a child and as such, you have to respect your elders. This is something you've largely done up until now so why have you chosen to ignore it this time, why did you feel you had to follow me?"

This time, silence was his answer and he waited for the boy to speak. Eventually, Hinata slowly, hesitantly, gave something more, "Because…because I…I felt I had to prove myself."

It was just as Takumi suspected, because he himself had felt the same way many times. Ryoma was a hard act to follow, his brother was so…perfect, he, unintentionally made others feel inferior. For much of his life, Takumi had longed to stand out from his brother, prove that he could be as powerful as him, it was a feeling he knew all too well. Hinata was the son of two of Hoshido's most renowned samurai, on top of that, he'd been trained by Ryoma himself and lived with the Royal Family, this brought expectation.

A couple of staff and nobles disliked the boy and we're always very judgemental of him but even those who liked him could be a problem. They'd seen him train with Ryoma and the other retainers and his natural skill was well known, this caused people to speculate, many saying that Hinata would be one of the greatest samurai before he was twenty, the palace blacksmith had even already started on a unique katana for when he was older, saying that a future legend needed a legendary blade. With all this expectation, it was no wonder the boy felt a need to prove himself.

However, he was still a child and a child should not be on the battlefield, no matter how skilled they were.

Crouching down, Takumi fixed the boy with a steady look, "Hinata, I understand your feelings, but doing something like this won't help, if anything, it'll only make things worse." He straightened up and looked down sternly, "Now, I can't let this go unpunished, at the moment, you're in my care and what you did can't be taken lightly, understand?"

The boy nodded meekly, "Yes Milord."

The prince continued, "As such, you will be confined to camp until further notice, only leaving with my express permission."

Again, the boy nodded, "Yes Milord." He then frowned in confusion, "Wait, camp?"

Takumi merely nodded, "Yes, camp. You will be accompanying us for the foreseeable future."

Hinata took a moment or two to realise what that meant and then his eyes lit up hopefully, "So, you're not sending me back to Hoshido?"

The prince kept his face stern, "No, but only if you follow every order you are given, also, you are not to take part in battle unless there is no other option, instead you are to hide someplace safe when combat arises, do I make myself clear?"

The boy closed his eyes and bowed in understanding, "Yes Milord, I fully understand."

Takumi nodded approvingly, "Good, now report to Oboro and assist her with whatever tasks she gives you."

Again, Hinata bowed before hurrying off, clearly resolved to do exactly as Takumi asked of him. Once he'd gone, the prince closed his eyes and sighed.

It had been a bit of an on-the-spot decision of his to bring Hinata with them, ideally, they'd send him back to Castle Shirasagi where he'd be safe. However, as things stood, he didn't think it safe to send him back there now, if Nohrians had infiltrated the neutral Izumo then there could be bands of them within Hoshido itself. Also, they didn't have people to spare to send an escort with him, considering the tiny size of Corrin's forces, and Izumo was a pacifist nation, with little in the way of military so they couldn't exactly supply an escort either. As such, the safest option was to take the boy with them where they could at least protect him themselves, it wasn't perfect, and he didn't like it much, but Takumi considered it the best idea they had.

He just hoped Hinoka didn't kill him for it.

* * *

 _ **PS-A bit of interaction between Takumi and Hinata, as well as an explanation of how a child would end up travelling with the army. Please let me know what you thought as well as any suggestions for future chapters.**_


	6. Well, it's like this

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to another chapter. This one bunces along the timeline and looks at three different events, tied together by the title. It has several characters present this time around and is largely humour. Thank you for your follows and favourites, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

" **Well, it's like this…"**

SMASH!

Hinata froze in horror, as a (rather expensive) ornamental vase shattered upon the stone floor of the palace.

Pieces of the hand-crafted masterpiece scattered across the floor, clattering mockingly, as if determined to let the whole of Castle Shirasagi know what he'd done. He glanced around wildly, half-expecting Queen Mikoto to swoop down upon him, magically summoned by the accidental destruction of one of her (very expensive) vases, but the corridor was clear in both directions.

Now what did he do?

In his head, he knew that he had to go to the Queen, explain what happened and apologise, however, there were a couple of issues with this course of action. One, he'd knocked the vase off its perch with a training katana (which he wasn't supposed to take from the dojo) when he'd been doing practice swings as he walked down the corridor (yet another thing he wasn't supposed to do). Two, Queen Mikoto was very precious about the palace as a whole and disliked any unnecessary damage to it or anything within it, he still remembered what happened to Ryoma when he'd unintentionally fried a, rather fetching, hand carved, wooden desk with Raijinto (it was enough to scare anybody off angering the queen). Finally, he'd get in trouble, and that was something no child wanted to happen.

With this in mind, he moved onto the next best (in his opinion) option, which was hide the evidence and hope no one found out it was him.

Swiftly gathering the scattered pieces, he gathered them into a small pile on the floor, and quickly considered where best to hide them. In one of the nearby flowerpots? No, someone would find them easily. The pond? Maybe, but that meant running the risk of being spotted as he ditched the evidence.

The sound of approaching footsteps pulled him out of his thoughts, panicking, he quickly swept the pieces under the table the (expensive) vase had been sat on and quickly stood in front of it.

He quickly arranged his face into what he thought was an innocent expression, just before Hinoka rounded the corner and spotted him.

The princess smiled, "Hello Hinata, what are you doing here."

Trying his best to act completely natural, he smiled back, "Nothing much."

Her smile immediately switched to a look of suspicion, "What are you up to?"

"Nothing, nothing at all, honest."

She frowned and leaned to the side, trying to peer around behind him. He moved to block her view of the table, still smiling innocently, and she simply frowned and pushed him gently to the side, instantly seeing the empty table and a few vase fragments that had somehow escaped being swept into hiding. She turned around and fixed him with a fierce look, "Hinata, what happened?"

Seeing that his plan was as shattered as the vase, the boy took a deep breath.

"Well, it's like this…"

* * *

Working swiftly, Silas bandaged the small wound on Hinata's arm.

It had been a completely out of the blue attack, a sudden ambush from a few, renegade soldiers, while he and the boy had been just a little too far from the rest of the army. In comparison to what they'd been through, it was really more of a butting of heads rather than a battle or skirmish, the renegades tried to attack and were beaten back with ease, but one lucky shot with a bow had grazed Hinata's arm.

The wound itself was really small (the boy had, apparently, done more damage to himself by accident or through training in the past) but it was the fact they'd ended up in such a position in the first place that was the problem.

He'd only taken Hinata with him because they were only going a short distance away to forage some extra supplies for their army and Prince Takumi had said it was okay, he hadn't meant to take them too far and certainly not far enough away to prompt an ambush. If people found out that his carelessness caused Hinata to get forced into a battle and hurt, then heads (most likely his own) were going to roll.

If Princess Sakura found out then she'd make him feel like a monster, Corrin would be disappointed, Princess Azura would give him death glares and frosty attitudes for days, Takumi wouldn't forgive him and Oboro would likely just outright kill him, provided the rest of the army didn't beat her to it.

The wound dressed, Silas stepped back with a sigh, "Well, this is going to be tough to explain."

Hinata grimaced, "Yeah, they're not going to be impressed. Oboro still hasn't quite forgiven me for following them to Izumo."

They fell into silence.

Since joining Corrin's army, Silas had gotten to know Hinata fairly well. Many of the royals considered him trustworthy and had often left the boy under his supervision when things like war meetings and such needed their attention. On top of that, Hinata himself had come to him for sparring sessions, curious about Nohrian fighting styles but not really comfortable with Nohr's other representatives. Many of the rank and file they'd recruited considered the boy either a burden or nuisance, not wanting much to do with him, and the Nohrian retainers were…eccentric. This left Silas as the best option and the young man quite enjoyed training with the retainer-in-training.

And now they both faced a joint problem.

Hinata looked thoughtful, "Do you think we could get away with just not telling them?"

Silas frowned, "We can't not tell them, we have to report something like this to them, otherwise those renegade soldiers could try again, we only scared them off this time."

The boy pulled a face, "I guess you're right." He sighed, "I just don't want to go through the frantic mother-henning from them, and never mind the result if Princess Camilla finds out."

Silas blanched.

Oh crap, Princess Camilla.

The Nohrian princess was overbearing to the point of extreme with her younger siblings and those she was close to, and since Hinata was an actual child, that over-mothering extended to include him the moment she saw him. It had reached a point where she and Oboro almost seemed in competition over who could mother the boy most and he was certain that Kaze had been helping the boy to hide when the two women got going.

In short, Camilla was highly protective of Hinata and she'd told Silas, in great detail, what would befall him should any harm come to the boy.

He was doomed.

If Oboro didn't kill him, then Camilla would completely destroy him, or both women would team up and put him through agonising, crippling pain, then kill him, possibly twice if Sakura and Elise were equally angry and brought him back from near death for a second round.

He clapped his hands, self-preservation in the forefront of his mind, "Right, we sneak back and find a healer to heal your cut, so they'll never know."

Hinata blinked, "But what do we tell the healer?"

The knight hesitated, "Erm…you tripped by accident and cut it on a low tree branch, and we just want it healed to avoid people making unnecessary fuss over it."

The boy grinned, "Of course, that'll definitely work!"

"What will definitely work?"

The new voice sent chills down Silas' spine, and he gulped before turning to face the one person he really didn't want to face right now.

"P-Princess Camilla?"

She walked slowly towards them, her wyvern waiting behind her watching the meeting with…was that excitement? The princess' eyes roamed over their surroundings, noticing the signs of a fight and falling upon the bandage on Hinata's arm.

Instantly, she swooped down upon the boy, over-the-top concern all over her face, "Oh my poor dear, what happened to you!?" She pulled the bandage off, examining the wound for herself, and quickly recognised it as an arrow graze. As instantly as before, her demeanour became menacing as she advanced on the trembling knight, "Silas, what happened?"

His throat bobbed in fear, his previous plan had gone up in smoke faster than a dry twig, his only hope now was to be honest and hope Camilla's anger at the escaped renegades was great enough to let her spare his life, with at least a couple of his limbs if he was really lucky. Behind the princess, he saw Hinata give a barely encouraging grin and mouth 'Good Luck', and he bit the arrow and answered.

"Well, it's like this…"

* * *

Their march through Valla was long and tiring, with battle after battle slowing their progress.

While Ryoma didn't regret his decision to join Corrin, it was proving to be a serious test of strength, endurance and courage for all involved, testing the morale of the army. However, the gruelling trial had served to improve relations between the Hoshidan and Nohrian sides of their forces, forming and strengthening bonds of friendship and even love. He himself had found himself being pulled into romance, falling for the one he'd thought would only ever be a surrogate sister, despite them not sharing a single drop of common blood. Their love had blossomed, and in the end, he could not resist any longer and had pronounced his feelings for Corrin. His joy when she revealed that she shared those feelings had been immeasurable and had led them to finally marrying, revealing the truth of Corrin's lack of Hoshidan blood to all to stem rumours of incest.

Now, some unexpected news had complicated their position, throwing several things into uncertainty.

They had called together the other royals and they, and their retainers, stood together to hear what their army's leader had to say.

Corrin's speech was short, ending with a very simple statement of something that was anything but.

"I am now pregnant."

A deathly hush fell as everyone comprehended what she'd just said, several mouths were agape, and they simply stared until Xander finally composed himself, "Is this true?"

It was Ryoma who answered, "Yes, we know for certain that it is indeed true."

Elise was the next to speak, practically bouncing with joy, "How exciting, congratulations sister."

Sakura was quick to follow, "Oh, yes. Congratulations."

Leo however, was more practical about it, "But what about the war? You can't fight on the front lines if you're carrying a child!"

Corrin sighed, "We're still working on that, Lillith has an idea but we don't know if we can go through with it."

As others added their congratulations and thoughts, Ryoma found his eyes wandering to Hinata, standing behind Takumi and scratching his head in confusion, a cold realisation struck him as he remembered that there was one thing they'd never thought to mention to him. He was about to quickly cut off the inevitable, but the boy was faster.

"But, how did it happen?"

For the second time in the meeting, a deathly hush fell over them all, the Nohrians were staring at the boy in disbelief while the Hoshidans grimaced as they all had the same realisation as Ryoma, and remembered the one thing they'd forgotten in Hinata's education.

Leo looked at Takumi incredulously, "You mean, you've never told him about that!"

The prince coughed, "Well, he is still pretty young, and it never came up."

Camilla added her thoughts, "That is a good point, not everyone learned about it as quickly as you Leo."

The mage blushed while his older brother cleared his throat awkwardly, "Well, it seems someone is going to have to tell him now."

Unable to resist any longer, Leo's retainer, Niles, came into the discussion, his voice filled with almost glee, "My lord, if you wish, I could tell the boy everything he needs to…"

"No, absolutely not!" Oboro dived in before he could continue, "There's no way we're trusting you with this."

Takumi swiftly backed her up, "Indeed, this needs to be handled by someone responsible."

Camilla grinned maliciously, "Well, since he is training to be your retainer, perhaps you should take this responsibility, Prince Takumi."

The sniper blushed, "What! No! I really don't think I'm the one to handle this. Perhaps someone such as Prince Leo would be better suited."

"I don't believe that to be the best option Prince Takumi." The man quickly responded, "Since he is the ward of the Hoshidan Royal Family, it is best if this duty is handled by one of its members."

"Well, I think it is best if this is dealt with by a man, seeing as he is male himself, so me, Sakura and Corrin can't do it." Hinoka swiftly took herself and her sisters out of the picture.

Suddenly, all eyes fell upon Ryoma, and the samurai found himself stuttering for one of the few times in his life, "Well…I don't know if I'm best suited…"

"Prince Ryoma." Xander interrupted his flail of an answer, "As both a man and the oldest member of the Hoshidan Royal Family, you are the best suited for this responsibility." A hint of a smug smile crossed his face, "Furthermore, you are more experienced than the rest of us."

How Niles didn't explode with joy at that remark, no one ever knew, but Xander's swift strike destroyed Ryoma's potential defence and left him with a sudden, overwhelming duty. Like magic, the entire gathering disappeared, leaving him alone with a very confused Hinata, who had no clue as to why his question had caused such a reaction.

They stood in silence for a long time, Ryoma shifting awkwardly as the boy stared at him expectantly. Eventually, the samurai took a deep breath and steeled his resolve, looking Hinata in the eye, he took the plunge.

"Well, it's like this…"

* * *

 _ **PS-So I hope you all enjoyed that and I'll happily take suggestions for future chapters, Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	7. Festival Fiasco

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to another, shorter chapter. This one has a little bit of villain stupidity, worried Oboro and Saizo being awesome. Thank you those who are following this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

 **Festival Fiasco**

Hinata sat quietly, watching the men around him carefully.

As he watched them, he was aware of two of them watching him, and he impudently grinned at them. They glowered, and one spoke, "I don't see what you have to be happy about brat." He then addressed his companion, "Seriously, why did we take this kid anyway?"

The other one shrugged, "For ransom I think. Boss says that he must be some rich guy's child, we're just waiting to find out which noble is going to pay up to get him back."

Hinata, nearly snorted out loud, it seemed that these guys didn't quite realise what they'd done. He got the feeling it had been a bit of a hasty kidnapping, he'd just wandered away from Oboro for a bit during a festival in the capital, when he'd found himself roughly grabbed and whisked away before he knew what was going on. He guessed that the men had probably been loitering around looking for an easy target and had thought him a golden opportunity to get a serious ransom, but it appeared they thought he was the son of a noble, not someone with close ties to the royal family.

Unfortunately, even Hoshido had its fair share of crooks and bandits. While Queen Mikoto's barrier prevented Nohr from invading, it did not stop those already inside from going the path of evil.

Besides the two watching him, the boy could see seven others scattered about the room, located in the lower part of the city, in an out of the way place. They were largely involved in their own business, either tending to crude weapons, gambling, or taking the chance to sleep. He assumed that the 'Boss' was out in the city, trying to find out who to contact about his expected ransom, leaving the rest to guard him.

Suddenly, another man burst in the door, panting heavily, "Men, we've seriously screwed up!"

The others gathered round him urgently.

"What do you mean Boss!?"

"Yeah, what's up with you!?"

He pushed through them and sat heavily in a chair, "The kid isn't just some noble brat, he's protected by the bloody royal family!"

The others blanched in fright and one stepped forward, his voice audibly quivering, "What do we do Boss? We'll be executed for sure!"

The boss snapped out orders, "Not if we get out of here quick. Grab the boy, we can use him as a hostage to make our getaway."

Fuelled by fear, the kidnappers swiftly set to work. One hoisted Hinata up by the scruff of his neck, his blade drawn ready, "No funny business boy!"

The others grabbed what belongings they had, and the boss took hold of Hinata, "Right, I'll take the lead. They won't be eager to attack if we've got a sword near the boy's throat."

Keeping a tight grip on his upper arm, the man pushed the Hinata ahead, blade held ready. Normally, a child in his position would be terrified, but Hinata had confidence that everyone had noticed his disappearance and were on their way already. Strangely enough, the ones who looked terrified were his kidnappers, they all glanced around nervously as they stole through the city's back streets, clearly expecting a horde of royal soldiers to descend upon them at any moment.

Though it was very unlikely to go that way.

Hinata caught a quick flash of movement in the shadows, indicating the presence of a Hoshidan ninja, and a grin crossed his face. While he certainly hadn't spotted the ninja, the man holding him definitely saw his captive grin and was instantly on guard. He locked his arm around the boy's torso, lifting him up and pinning him to his chest, he brought the sword edge right to Hinata's throat and spoke commandingly to his surroundings.

"Show yourself, or this brat is done for."

As if from nowhere, Kagero materialised before them, "I've shown myself, now release him."

The boss growled, "Not likely, I'll let this kid go when we're well away from the city. Make one move to stop us and I'll bleed him dry."

Hinata's only warning was a swishing noise, a split-second before the other, unnoticed ninja struck. Within moments, the boy found himself out of his captor's grip and shoved into Kagero's waiting arms. He snapped his head around to see the boss unconscious at the feet of Saizo, with the other crooks gaping in fearful awe.

With no boss and no hostage, the group immediately turned tail and ran, but there was no escape, for Oboro was coming up behind them, the fury on her face causing most of them to surrender right there and then. The few that did try to fight past her, were soon rendered unconscious by her naginata pole, or Saizo's attack from behind.

All in all, the whole scuffle took roughly three minutes, with the retainers coming out victorious.

Silence reigned, as Hinata blinked in surprise at how quickly things had gone, until Saizo spoke bluntly, "You need to control your facial tells more, your grin upon glimpsing Kagero alerted the enemy to her presence, it would've ruined our ambush had we not swiftly altered the plan."

If he was planning to say any more, he never got the chance, as Oboro shoved her way past him, "Hinata! Are you alright, are you hurt?"

"No, not really."

He had a bit of bruising from when they'd grabbed him initially and where the boss had gripped his arm, but that was it really, nothing he couldn't handle or hadn't done to himself by accident at some point.

Not satisfied with his answer, the spear fighter did a swift check to make sure he wasn't bleeding or anything and sighed when she found nothing of concern. She then glared, "What were you thinking, wandering off in the middle of a busy festival like that!? Do you realise how worried we were, only to find out that you'd been kidnapped!?" She sighed, "We're just lucky Saizo located you so quickly, I don't want to think about what might've happened if he didn't."

She then pulled him into a tight hug, "Thank the gods you're okay!"

 _ **PS-Very short one really. Please let me know what you thought and I'm still happy to take chapter requests if people have any.**_


End file.
